


Angel of the Sea

by KTKuma, Manickmondays



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: 1840s... ish, F/M, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mermaid!Lindsay, Merman!Gavin, merman au, merman!michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-26 13:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6241717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KTKuma/pseuds/KTKuma, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manickmondays/pseuds/Manickmondays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan was roughly shoved down the plank laid down off the ship.  He took his first step and very quickly came to the realization that this was it.</p><p>This was his punishment for attempting to mutiny against Captain Ramsey and trying to take The Griffon from his control.  He should've known that he wouldn't have anyone with him, they were all spineless cowards.</p><p>This was his end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finding the River

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Book of Mermen! We had the need to write some mermen after [crash-bang-boom](http://crash-bang-boom.tumblr.com/) on tumblr did some [lovely](http://crash-bang-boom.tumblr.com/post/138850031930/have-a-bit-of-merfreewood-for-no-apparent-reason), [lovely](http://crash-bang-boom.tumblr.com/post/139252801470/gavin-looked-at-him-with-an-odd-firmness-to-his) art for the idea, and we just rolled with it.  
> Multi chaptered. Historical(ish). Mermen. Gays. It's wonderful.

"Come on now, Geoff, let's talk about this." Ryan tried reasoning with the man that held a sword to his throat.

"I think we're past just 'talking', Haywood.  Make sure you tie his hands extra tight - I don't want there to be any chance he'll get out of them."

Ryan cursed when the man tying his arms complied and locked his wrists together with a thin rope.  He was very rapidly losing feeling in his hands.  "Come on, Geoff, you don't need to do this!" An almost manic smile was gracing his lips.  Maybe he could charm his way out of this.

Geoff barked out a laugh, showing no sign of letting the sword drop, "'Don't need to do this?!'  Haywood, you bastard, you tried to take my ship from me!  I feel that this is the only course of action I  _ can  _ take."

Ryan was roughly shoved down the plank laid down off the ship.  He took his first step and very quickly came to the realization that this was it.

This was his punishment for attempting to mutiny against Captain Ramsey and trying to take The Griffon from his control.  He should've known that he wouldn't have anyone with him, they were all spineless cowards.

This was his end.

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to come to terms with everything that he had done and would never get to do.  He sent a quick prayer that he would be given a quick death and a pleasant afterlife, even with his... peculiarity.

A solid hand placed itself on the center of his back and pushed him further down.  He couldn't stop himself before he had reached the end of the plank and began to fall towards the unforgiving water.

 

Away from the ship, Gavin's head shot out of the water as he saw the body plummet into the water, bubbles surrounding the form. He glanced between the ship and where he saw the body fall, and turned to Michael, urgently grasping at his shoulder.

"Michael!" 

Michael rolled his eyes and turned to where Gavin was pointing."What is it now?" He had half a fish in his hand and swept a tongue across his teeth to clean them a little. 

Gavin made a face at the blood staining his teeth and turned back to the ship."They just pushed a human off that ship! We have to go save them!"

"Oh." Michael shrugged Gavin's hand off of his shoulder and turned back to his fish, inspecting it for his next bite. 

Gavin deflated before tugging on his arm again."Please, we can't just let them  _ die _ ."

"Ugh, fine. You never let me finish anything." He gave the fish a forlorn look, tossing it aside before following Gavin's shimmering tail into the water.

Gavin made his way over to the rapidly sinking human as fast as he could, making circles around them to assess the situation. He saw the ropes binding their hands together and he made for the ocean floor to find something to cut with.

 

This was it. Ryan knew he didn't have much breath left, and he would soon black out from lack of oxygen.  He opened his eyes to get a look the scene that would be his death bed, ignoring the burn of the salt in his eyes. As he closed them again, he saw a large streak move past him, and the water moving with him.

Great, he was going to be taken by sharks. All he wanted was a painless death. Ryan screwed his eyes tighter as he waited for his death to come. As he could feel his consciousness slipping away, he felt something tug at his arms and then the rope falling from his wrists. The bastards didn't even bind him properly...

But it didn't matter now, there was no way he could make it to the surface for air, let alone any land.

 

Gavin watched as the human's body went slack; he knew what this meant. They were drowning. He looked around for Michael to help him get the human to the surface where they could breathe, but he was nowhere to be found. He knew the human was too heavy to get to the surface in time, he wasn't the fastest swimmer and would be even slower with something in his arms. Gavin furrowed his brow before shooting up as rapidly as he could to the surface to get a gulp of air before diving back down.

He watched as the human's body sank further down, willing that his gills would stay closed long enough to get his breath of air to the human. He almost released it in a relieved sigh when he took the human's face in his hands and connected their lips, breathing out as much as he could before tucking his hands under their arms and swimming upwards. He could feel the burn in his body as he swam, and the human was growing heavier and heavier in his arms. But he  _ wasn't _ going to let them die. 

Gavin could feel his tail slowing down as he worked to get to the surface, his lack of arms not helping in his ascent.  The human in his arms began to weigh more and more as they nearly collapsed into Gavin and tried to draw him down.  Gavin clenched his jaw as he held back a sob.  His tail hurt and his arms hurt but he  _ couldn't _ let this human die - not when he had the chance to save them.

Just as he worried that he wouldn’t make it the human felt lighter and Gavin glanced down to see Michael wrapping his arms around the human's middle and using his far more powerful red tail to help bring them upwards.

The three broke the surface, Michael and Gavin gasping in air as their lungs came into use.  Gavin immediately checked on the human - they didn't  _ seem _ to be breathing.  With a worried look to Michael, he transferred the human's weight fully onto him and took their face in his hands.  He took a great gulp of air into his straining lungs and crashed their lips together, pushing all of the air he could into the human's lungs.  He continued to do this until the human spluttered and their eyes began to flutter.

The human coughed up a bit of water, eyes still mostly closed. Gavin flashed a look at Michael and he nodded, loosening his grip on the human slightly. They stayed mostly upright, and it seemed at least for the moment being they were fine, so Gavin dove back below the water, trying to create as little disturbance as possible. As much as he wanted to save this human, he knew it wasn't wise to alert them to his presence. Humans could be, and often were, cruel. He and his friends had had too many near misses with harpoons and nets to think otherwise.

 

Ryan's eyes opened slowly, and he tried to breathe past the burning in his lungs. He was still out in the water, but he thought he maybe saw land a ways away. His throat still burned, and he coughed a little as if that would lodge the salty feeling from it, but it didn't do much. He stayed there, trying to get his bearings for a moment, not seeing a ship anywhere nearby, when he realized he shouldn't be seeing a ship, or land, or water.

He should be dead.

He should have sunk to the bottom of the ocean and  _ drowned. _ He remembered his arms pulling free from the rope, and the water moving around him as what he had genuinely thought was sharks circled his body and then- nothing. Then he was here. Alive. Breathing- mostly. Perhaps his prayer had been a little  _ too  _ effective, an occurrence that rather surprised him... considering.

The water moved around him, and when he looked down he thought he saw the glimmer of fish scales moving through the water around him.  His eyes must have been playing tricks on him, because he'd never seen a fish that big with scales like that.  He'd seen plenty a shark and whale out on the sea, but never something as brightly colored as this.

Streaks of blue and red alternated swimming out into the sea before disappearing into the depths only to reemerge closer to Ryan and begin the dance again.

Were they... leading him somewhere?

It wouldn’t  _ hurt _ to follow them.

Ryan tentatively made his way through the water, following the glimmers of what might just be hallucinations that would lead him to his death.  But, at least he was doing  _ something _ .  Maybe someone would find him.

And maybe God was looking out for him after all.  Every time that Ryan felt like he couldn't go on, he felt what seemed like a gentle hand pulling him further.  And after what seemed like hours of swimming - he could see it.  Trees and sand out on the horizon.

Land.

He was going to make it.

He could survive.

Ryan willed his aching limbs to carry him to the beach, and when they couldn't,  _ something _ would push him along towards land. He wanted to cry when he finally felt sand under his feet and then he was actually walking... for a second. He sank to his knees, too exhausted to properly walk. He knelt in the waves for a moment, taking in the fact that he was alive and letting the sun bake a bit of the water out of his clothes.

And then, he wanted nothing more in the world than to  _ sleep. _

He stood, groaning with the effort of it and at the protest of his limbs, and made his way up the beach a bit, to where he was relatively sure the tide wouldn't catch him as he slept and make all of his hard work null. The sun had started to get unbearably hot instead of pleasantly warm, and he could already feel the heat of a burn on his cheeks.

He didn't want to move over to it, but he saw a bit of shade and slowly made his way over to it before slumping to the ground under the tree and almost immediately falling asleep.

\---

"Look at that, asshole, he's dead anyways."

"Michael, he's not  _ dead _ , he's sleeping.... I-I think."

"You know, I've never tried human."

" _ Michael _ ."

"I bet they'd be too meaty."

" _ Lindsay _ ."

Ryan groaned and rolled over a little, the burn in his muscles willing him to do little more than that.

"Shit, he is alive."

"Come on."

Ryan furrowed his brow at the voices, but when he cracked his eyes open and cast them over the beach, he saw no one.  Maybe he was hallucinating again.  He did nearly drown, and then swam God knows how long.  He'd also gone... a while without food or water, so that probably wasn't working in his favor either.

Ryan pulled himself up to a sitting position and looked out across the waters.  He rubbed his eyes when he thought he saw a blue and pink tail flip out over the waves, but when he looked again, he saw nothing. The sun was playing tricks on his eyes again.

He scrubbed at his eyes, trying to maybe shake off these visions he kept having, even if they had saved his life. They'd served their purpose, and he was starting to tire rapidly of not being able to trust his senses. He'd always been able to trust himself, he was probably the only person he trusted, and now he was failing himself.

If he wasn't drowning, he was going crazy.

Spots danced in front of his eyes, making his head twinge and he thought to the last time he'd had something to  _ drink. _ It had been... that morning? The fact that he couldn't remember only cemented the idea that he needed water, and soon. He wasn't even sure if there was fresh water on the island, but he'd just have to hope.

Ryan drew himself up onto his feet and then sat back down immediately when his legs protested.  He sighed and tried again, hauling himself up and holding onto a tree for dear life.  He carefully moved himself from tree to tree, using as little of his own leg strength as necessary, though his arms also burned.

And his face. Every part of him that wasn't covered and protected from the sun glowed red and twinged with heated pain with every movement he made.

When a trickling stream could be seen cutting through the trees, Ryan was close to renouncing his ways and devoting himself to God. With a sudden burst of speed, he pushed himself off the tree he was hanging on and nearly ran to the water source.  He thrust his hands into the cool liquid and brought it to his dry, cracked, burning lips and began to drink.

Immediately, he felt a hundred times better.  He could feel the delicious, cold water make its way through his body and to his fingers and toes.  He drank until he felt full and then sipped some more.  With a shout of glee, he began to splash himself with the stream water wash away the salt, the sand, and the hurt.

He felt rejuvenated.

He spun around to check if the voices had followed him, be they real or not. When he felt he was sufficiently alone, he stripped his now dry shirt off, half to run it through the water, half to further inspect his burn. It was bad, though the pain in his limbs might be less from the burn and more for the swimming, he wasn't terribly sure. Either way, his skin felt tight and hot to the touch, and that was going to be a little more than unpleasant. 

Better burnt then dead. 

He took a couple minutes to rinse the dried salt from his shirt and slipped it back on to make his way back down to the beach.

\---

Sunset came rather swiftly, and Ryan was relieved to finally not have the hot sun beating down on his back. The night was still a bit warm, and the moon was a tiny sliver, showing itself as the sun sank below the horizon. He was hungry, but that could wait till morning. He was safe, and alive, despite all odds. He was settled beneath the same tree, seeing as it had served him well enough earlier as a sort of makeshift bed.

There was a splash from the water, which he would have ignored had it not been paired with a hushed _ 'Look!' _ He stood and made his way over to the waves, letting them roll in around his ankles.  _ Something _ was out there, he was sure of it.

Ryan stood out there in the water for what felt like hours before his legs protested and he limped his way back to his tree, settling down, but keeping himself sat up so that he could see the water if he needed.

He had nearly drifted off when the gentle lull of the waves was broken by several splashes.

"Get back here, what are you doing?"

"I'm checking on him, give me a second."

"You're going to get caught!"

"Hush."

Ryan's eyes flew open and laid on two men out in the water.  One was further up the beach, resting on his hands, while the other was out in the water, his head barely above the surface.

The man in front was turned to look at the man behind him and did not notice Ryan pulling himself up from the tree.

"Gavin." The man out in the water pointed to Ryan before quickly ducking under the water, the flick of what looked like a red tail following.

The man on the beach whipped his head around to look at Ryan, and his eyes went wide, "You're... awake."

"I wouldn't be, if it weren't for all the noise you're making." Ryan grunted a little as he stood, just wanting to sleep the tiredness in his body away.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, I'm sorry for bothering you." He gave a little placating smile, but it didn't really make Ryan feel any better. He was fine, he was just tired, damnit. But, this could be the source of the voices and the reason he was alive. He felt it appropriate to thank him if he was.

"Were you the one that-" Ryan stopped speaking as he approached the man lying in the water- he wasn't a man at all. His lower half was a pink and blue tail that even in the dark nearly shone with how bright it was. "Dear God!" He jumped back, ignoring the screaming of his muscles. "Is that... real?" 

The man laughed, a tinkling, musical little laugh. "Of course it is! It's my tail, isn't it?" He wriggled it a little, water flipping of it in sparkling little drops.

"That's... that's impossible!" Ryan stumbled back, falling into the sand.  "You can't... Are you a... merman?"

The man lowered himself a bit, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, yes. I am called Gavin!" he chirped and looked up at Ryan with big hazel eyes. Even in the dark, Ryan could see the patches of blue scales across his tanned, more human like face and torso.

He was... handsome.

"What do others call you?"

Ryan paused, wondering if he should tell this man- merman- his name.  He had heard many a story about how fantastical creatures could use your name for terrible things.  But maybe that was just witches and fairies.  Surely the merfolk had no such magic?  Though at this point in his life, he didn’t know what to believe, and Ryan had nothing to lose.  "Ryan.  I am called Ryan."

Gavin smiled and splashed the water with his shining tail.  "That's a lovely name!"

"Gavin, were you the one... that saved me?"

Gavin got sheepish again, one hand coming to tug at the string of shells and beads around his wrist, "I couldn't just let you drown after being pushed off that boat.  It didn't seem right.  So I helped you find your way.  With the help of Michael, of course.  I couldn't have done it without him."

"There are... more of you?"

"Of course!  How do you think I got to be here if there weren't others!  Oh." Gavin turned to look out towards the water where there were several splashes.  Ryan swore he saw flashes of colors disappearing into the water.  "I must go, but I'll come and see you in the morning.  No point in hiding now.  I’ll see you soon, lovely Ryan!"  And with that, Gavin the merman pushed himself back deeper into the water before turning and diving down with a flick of his pink and blue tail, shimmering in the moonlight.

Ryan felt his cheeks warm a bit, and not from his burn. How could the merman think him lovely already? Why would the merman find _ him  _ lovely? Maybe it was just a... a merfolk thing.

Merfolk.

Ryan still couldn't quite believe that merfolk were real. Perhaps they weren't, and this was some sort of final pleasantness as he sank to the bottom of the ocean. Rather... handsome mermen, and a beautiful island to imagine as he drifted to his death. As he slid back to the sand he shook off the thought. Life was infinitely better now than it was earlier in the day, there was no point in being defeatist, so he tried to make himself comfortable in the sand and drift off to sleep.


	2. Everybody Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Save these gays

Ryan was awoken in the morning not by the warm sun hitting his face, nor the gentle lap of the waves near him, but the calling of a now familiar voice.

"Ryan!" He groaned and rolled over, trying not to grind sand into his eye as he wiped the sleep from it. He cracked an eye open to see a shining, albeit somewhat blurry face sitting up in the waves, with a blindingly bright tail flicking behind it. "Oh! Did I wake you up?"

"Somewhat, yes." He tried to sit up, but if he thought he was sore and burnt yesterday, he was painfully wrong about how sore he was going to be today. He wasn't even sure if he could  _ move.  _ Laying on the ground it was then, at least until he could work up the energy to move.

"...Are you not going to get up?"

Ryan sighed and looked up to the impossibly blue sky. "Gavin, I know you don't have legs, but as a human, I require them to move, but I am still recovering from my swim."

"Hey! You think it was easy getting you up to the surface? I almost didn't make it!" Gavin gave a little indignant huff.

"Yes, but you are still here. Obviously you are well enough to come to see me."

"I really wanted to see you, lovely Ryan."

Ryan's cheeks burned twice as hot; he was glad Gavin couldn’t see him. "Why?"

"Because. I like you. I helped you. I find humans interesting and you've yet to try and hurt me."

"I don't think I could hurt you even if I could move." Ryan grimaced as he pushed himself up.  He knew he needed to find food and more permanent shelter, but his entire body screamed out in agony.

Ryan slowly made his way into a standing position. Gavin was lounging out in the shallows, watching him.  In the daylight, Ryan was able to properly appreciate the colors of Gavin's body.  His golden tan skin melting perfectly into the shimmering blue and pink scales.  He was bright and attractive.

For- for a man. Merman.

Ryan tried to shake the thoughts out of his head as he turned to Gavin properly. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could get food?  On land, I mean."

Gavin thought for a second, "Oh! There's a stream over that way," he pointed with his webbed hand, "That sometimes sends fruits out into the sea.” A grimace flashed across his face, “Though they never taste good to me.  But I'm sure you can find something there!" Gavin looked so eager have helped.

Ryan gave him a grateful little look, "I hope you're right. I'm  _ starving _ ."

"Oh, I should have gotten you something to eat!" Gavin looked around as if he could find something for Ryan in the shallows. "Though, can you eat seaweed?" He seemed like he was asking the question more for himself than anyone else, and bit his lip for a second.

"Strictly speaking, yes, but I'd rather not."

"But wait, you can actually eat it? Michael can't..."

"Gavin-" Ryan put out a hand to stop him, "I need to eat. If you must ask me questions, please let me have some food first." 

Gavin nodded a sharp little nod.  "I'll wait right here for you, lovely Ryan!" Ryan turned away quickly so Gavin couldn't see his blush. Gavin didn't need to see that.

 

The human- Ryan, Gavin corrected himself, Ryan was acting a little... strange. Like he didn't want to be around Gavin. He hoped that wasn't the case. He was _ so _ curious about humans, and Ryan seemed to be willing to talk to him. And he seemed to be curious about merfolk in return. He stood to learn so much, and he didn't want that to go away. Not to mention he rather liked Ryan, for... for many reasons.

Maybe it was because Gavin woke him up. He'd have to apologize again for that.

Gavin sighed and rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, watching the clouds roll over.  He flipped his tail up, scattering droplets of water, and watched the way the sun glittered off them.  The waves rolled over him and he sighed happily.

He could leave, but he wanted to be here when Ryan got back.  He needed to apologize, and he wanted to get to know the man. 

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Gavin propped himself up a little to see Michael not too far away from him, head popped over the water.  "Just... waiting."

"For your human?"

"Ryan."

"Whatever.  Why?"

Gavin shrugged, "I like him."

"You barely know him!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can't like someone you just met. He could kill us and then... I don't know, wear our scales as trophies." 

Gavin rolled his eyes. "You don't have to be so gross and over dramatic, Michael. He's had plenty of opportunity to at least kill me and he hasn't. I trust him."

Michael came up out of the water a little, so Gavin could see his disapproval set firmly in his brow, "You trust every human. You trust ones that try to capture us and kill us."

"That's not true, Michael. I don't trust every human right from the start."

"Oh yeah, you give them a few minutes to not kill us and then everything's alright with you. You're gonna lose your-" Michael's head whipped to the edge of the greenery a bit up the beach. "Fuck, he's coming back, I gotta go."

"No."

"No?"

"Stay here. Meet him. You'll see that I'm right, and that you can trust him."

"I'm not going to do that, Gavin!" 

Gavin winced away from Michael’s cry and put on a pleading little pout " _ Please _ , Michael."

Michael bared his teeth and growled quietly as the sound of feet crunching through sand got closer.  His wet curls bounced as he whipped around to eye Ryan coming closer.  He started to swim back a little, but stopped when Ryan sat down in the sand, arms laden with fruit.

"You came back, Ryan!" Gavin chirped and rolled back onto his stomach.

"Why?" Michael shot at the human.

Ryan just realized the second merman was there and focused on him. "I like... I appreciate the company."

Gavin smiled as his cheeks burned a little at the comment.

"That, and I'd be dead if it weren't for Gavin." Gavin perked up and pointed back at Michael, who had sunk mostly below the water, the tips of his finned ears sticking up above the water. As much as Michael didn't want to be here, Gavin wanted to make sure Ryan knew who had helped saved him.

"And Michael!" Michael's eyebrows set into a hard line as he was pointed out. Gavin's voice dropped to a stage-whisper, "He doesn't like humans very much."

"I don't trust them." He growled as he came a bit closer, "Don't lie to him about how I feel."

"Whatever, you're just grumpy."

"I'm not- ugh, I'm gonna go. Don't come to me bleeding and crying when this all goes wrong." He sank back below the water and, with a flash of brilliant red, was gone.

"Is he always like that?" Ryan's voice was quiet and brought Gavin back to attention. He shook a little to clear the nagging idea that Michael had left in his brain that this  _ might _ go wrong and turned back to Ryan.

"He can be really nice. He just... doesn't think the best of people. Especially humans." His voice got a little somber before picking right back up into a cheerier tone, "But I like you- uh, humans, I mean."

 

An uncomfortable silence that followed Gavin's words, and neither one really knew how to get out of it.  Ryan looked around and let the sounds of the ocean calm him.  But something was bothering him, "Are there other humans here?"  Ryan didn't know exactly where he was, but he knew that Captain Ramsey had been sailing somewhere between some rather populated islands, so there was a chance... He didn't want to get his hopes too high.  "Because what you and your friend said... it sort of made it seem like you see humans often."

"Not too often.  Not on land, though there are few who come over to this coast occasionally.  There is a small area where your large ships stop, and I know that there are humans there."  Gavin got quiet and began to pick at the pick at his shells and beads again.  "We normally avoid that place."

Ryan's eyes got wide, "So there's... civilization here?"

Gavin shrugged, "There's humans, yeah.”

"How far away is it?" 

Gavin chewed at his lip. "I don't quite know how far it would be on land, but it's kind of..." He pointed directly over Ryan's shoulder, "That way. This isn't that big of an island so..." He trailed off, getting a little more reserved. "You'll be able to find it. I'll, um..." He pushed himself back into the water a bit. "I guess I'll see you later, Ryan." He got himself to a point where he could properly swim and dove under the waves, tail barely cresting the water.

Ryan watched the water to see if Gavin would reappear, and when he didn't, Ryan stood with a slightly louder groan then he would have thought strictly necessary. Now that he was alone, he had a moment to think and he realized- Gavin hadn't called him 'lovely'. He had seemed a bit off too, more nervous and quieter than normal. Like something was bothering him.

Had Gavin... figured it out? Couldn't be, they hadn't been around each other nearly enough. Still, Ryan didn’t dismiss the possibility entirely.

Perhaps he had he done something to make Gavin mad? He hoped he hadn’t. He wanted to see the merman again, and that he hoped hadn't scared him off for good. He shook off the thought and started off in the direction Gavin had shown him, eager to find some kind of civilization, however small. He could get back to somewhere proper and get back to his life, even if it wasn't on Captain Ramsey's ship.

Ryan almost regretted heading off to find this civilization right away.  Mostly because after about 10 minutes, his legs protested, but he knew that he needed to find a place to get proper food.

That was his main goal: food.  Maybe some general supplies.  He knew that he might not find a way back into life on land right away, or even life on the sea, but he could at least make some connections.  Though, the more Ryan thought of it, the more he wasn't sure he wanted to go back.  He might've left home because he was worried about safety because of who he was, but he sometimes didn't feel that his time with Captain Ramsey was any better.  He still had to hide who he was when he was with... anyone.

And Gavin... even though he had seemed upset, he wondered if the merman would have any objections to... what he was.  He didn't know why he would, merfolk weren't humans, and therefore might not even believe in God.  But, Ryan had never heard of another animal with the same unnatural feelings that he had, only other humans.  Humans that just were born against God's will.

Maybe he wouldn't be so quick to find home with other humans.

He stopped for a moment, both to rest his legs and to think if he did indeed want to find this town. Alone, he wouldn't be tempted. Alone, he might not be... beat. His hand drifted to cup his cheek, stinging from the memory.

Food. He still needed food. It didn't matter how long he stayed in the town, he didn't have to stay very long at all as long as he got what he needed and left as soon as he could. He didn't have money, but that wasn't usually a problem. The sorts of people who frequented ports weren't the sort of people who were terribly concerned with actual money. He could work for whatever he needed, and that worked well enough for him.

He'd never even really had a lot of money with Captain Ramsey, he just provided for his crew and kept most of the rest for himself. But now, at least to Ryan, there was no coin, no captain, no one but him. And... maybe Gavin. If he hadn't permanently scared him off.

He kept going, feeling the sun grow hotter and hotter on his back, and feeling his skin twinge with every movement. Working was going to be hard, but he'd faced worse.

\---

Gavin made his way down into the depths of the dark ocean, finding his way back to his little cave. Two dark rocks jutted up from the ocean floor, the remnants of an old shipwreck lying over the top of them to make a sort of roof. Over the years, Gavin had cleaned out this little cave and filled it with little things that he had found cast out into the ocean, or the few little trinkets that were given to him by some of the children of the island.

Gavin curled up in the cave, and drew the scrap of fabric he kept over himself. He had no need for a blanket for warmth, but it comforted him and also alerted him to any disturbances in the water.  He shut his eyes and tugged gently at the beads and shells strung around his wrist.

Ryan was probably going to leave. All humans did, eventually. They wanted to be with their own kind, which he guessed was understandable. He normally got over it, but Ryan seemed different.  He wanted Ryan to stay, but he would eventually leave like all the rest.

He just had to accept that Ryan would leave him now, so that it would hurt less when he did. So he tugged his little blanket over himself and tried not to think of ways to keep Ryan from leaving.


	3. Losing My Religion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is something beautiful about someone learning to love themselves.  
> Also, Ryan moves in.
> 
> To the beach.
> 
> As you do.

The sun was just cresting above the horizon when Gavin poked his head above the water, heart full of hope that he would see Ryan still there, and he hadn’t decided to just stay with the humans. Where he belonged. 

Much to his relief Ryan was still there, and much to his surprise he was awake, with something glinting in his fingers. He swam a little closer, hoping that the light wasn't bright enough to make his scales obvious. He didn't want to call out to Ryan just yet- he wanted to find out what he had. As he drew closer it became apparent Ryan had a knife in his hands, and the revelation sent a spike of fear through Gavin. Was this how Ryan was going to leave him?  Kill him and take him as a gruesome trophy? It happened to many of the merfolk that frequented these waters, and he feared he would be next.

"I can see you out there, Gavin, you practically glow." Gavin squeaked and ducked underneath the waves, hiding from his inevitable fate.

Gavin didn't know what to do now.

Ryan had seen him.  Now what?  He couldn't just  _ leave. _

Could... could he?

After a couple minutes, Gavin poked his head up above the water again, a little sheepish.

"Gavin, come on!" Gavin squinted and spied the knife that was no longer in Ryan's hands.  It was lying on the sand next to him.  His survival instinct battled with his wish to see Ryan. Ryan could just as easily hurt him with the knife lying next to him as he could with it in his hands.

But maybe he wouldn't hurt him at all...

"Come on, I haven't seen you in a while, I was hoping we could talk."

Gavin hesitantly made his way over to the shore.  He still made sure that he didn't get too close, staying a bit further back than he had before Ryan left.

Ryan came over and sat down, keeping most of his body out of the water and just letting the water lap at his toes.

"Are you going to stay all the way out there in the water or do you  _ want _ me to have to shout at you the whole time?" Ryan chuckled lightly, but it didn't ease Gavin's worry, heart still hammering away in his chest. He wanted to trust Ryan, he liked Ryan... Ryan's  _ company _ , that is.  He screwed up his face and inched closer, until he could feel the sand scraping at his scales.

"Am I that unbearable to deal with?" Ryan's tone was light, but his face a little more grave. Gavin sank a little lower in the water, timid.

"Please don't kill me." He barely whispered the words, but Ryan seemed to hear them clearly.

"Gavin, why would you think I would do that?" Gavin didn't say a thing, just pointed over to where the knife lay in the sand, still shining as the sun rose. "Oh God, the knife, Gavin no, that was so I could maybe build myself some shelter and prepare food. I could never hurt you with that. I don't ever want to hurt a creature like you."A blush made its way across Gavin's face. "Gavin, I didn't mean to scare you like that, I am so sorry."

Gavin shook his head, still a little shaky, "No, no, it's alright, I was just.... cautious. Nothing good has happened when merfolk approach a human with a weapon.  But... I wanted to trust you."

"Have you... seen many humans?"

Gavin settled himself in the water, still further away from Ryan than he had been. "I've seen some. They come and go rather quickly. Their young mostly are the ones who interact with us.  Well... who don't try and hurt us."

"I'm sorry, Gavin. I know that humans can be... that we aren't all that great." Ryan let a hand ghost over his left cheek, the sting from the beatings still haunting him.

A silence fell over the two as they thought about the ways that humanity had wronged them.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Gavin nearly sighed, "They all do, once they know they're not alone."

Ryan watched the way that Gavin looked down at the sand under the water, and his tail gently swished from side to side.

"I... don't know." Gavin looked up to Ryan, "I have no real place on land, and I have no real place out at sea.  But I... I think I've found a little home here."

Gavin felt a little thrill in his chest at the word 'home'. He didn't know too terribly much about humans, but he knew home was important to them. He often heard the men who came through the little dock sighing wistfully for home and their wives- whatever those were. 

Ryan smiled gently, "I've found I rather like it here." Gavin could feel his cheeks heat up, foolishly, because how could Ryan mean that he was one of those reasons?

"Gavin, your face is... purple!" Ryan looked rather shocked, and Gavin wished he could see his own face because he was most definitely not purple... was he? He knew of the scales on his face, and had assumed they matched the ones on his body, but those were most decidedly blue.

Ryan's voice cut through his thoughts. "Your... your cheeks, they're purple, like some sort of... blush?"

"I don't- I don't understand, Michael and Lindsay blush red, you do too! Is something wrong with my face?" 

Ryan shook his head a bit frantically, "No, it's fascinating and a little beautiful and-" Ryan clamped a hand over his mouth, fear evident in his eyes. Gavin didn't know if he'd done something wrong, but he felt very guilty all of a sudden nonetheless.

"I'm sorry."  Gavin's voice was small and meek.

"No!  Gavin, no.  It... it is not your fault.  It... It's me.  Um," A silence stretched between the two of them, "It, um, might be because of your scales.  Your blush, I mean.  Red face under blue scales.  Red and blue make purple, you know.  All that."

Gavin nodded and ran his fingers over his face, feeling the bump of his scales.  The silence stretched again, and he had nothing better to do than to pick at his beads and shells.  His eyes scanned along Ryan's form.  The rising sun caught on something hanging around his neck and Gavin's head snapped to watch it.  His hands flew to the sand to drag him a little closer.  "What's that!?"

Ryan narrowed his eyes, a bit confused.  "What's what?" Gavin pointed at Ryan's neck, flinging water into his face. Ryan flinched a bit as the water hit him, brushing it off with a thumb. He ran his hand along his neck until his fingers caught along the gold chain that hung there.  "Oh.  This." Ryan pulled the chain out from under his shirt, avoiding the little cross that hung on the end.

Gavin's eyes went wide when Ryan pulled the chain out.  His eyes followed the way the little charm on the end swung back and forth, catching on the orange sunlight.  "It's beautiful."

Ryan furrowed his brows, "It's just a cross necklace..." Ryan thought for a second, looking over the crude decorations strung around Gavin's wrist and along his tail.  "Do you want it?"

Ryan knew that Gavin was a merman, but in that moment, he looked like a puppy receiving a treat.  He thrust his chest out of the water and his tail began to flick out of the water.  "Really?"  His eyes nearly sparkled.  

He really was beautiful.

"Yeah, um.  Hold on a second, though."  Ryan stood and pulled the necklace from around his neck.  He quickly unclasped it and dumped the cross into his hand.  He looked at the small golden cross in his palm and thought about what it meant to him.  It held him down, it was thrown against him as a weapon.  Every second that he held this against his chest made him feel hatred for himself.  For many this cross was liberation, but to Ryan, it was subjugation.  It had convinced him he was unnatural and unholy.

But fuck that.

Ryan closed his fist around the small cross and threw it out into the ocean, and with it, any doubts that he had about himself.  He stood there a second, feeling.... free.  A smile broke out across his lips and laughter began to bubble out.  He fell back into the sand feeling new.  He held his hand out to Gavin, offering up the chain.  "Take it."

Gavin took it into his hand, cupping it gently and nearly gaping at it like it was a holy relic. He stared down at it for a moment before looking back up to Ryan. 

"Um. I might... need your help." He wiggled his webbed fingers a bit to show how incapable he was of clasping the chain, and smiled at Ryan. Ryan looked between Gavin's hand and his smiling face for a few seconds before taking the chain from his hands and slinging it around Gavin's neck. He rather pointedly avoided looking at Gavin, instead focusing on the slightly wet chain, fumbling with the clasp for a few seconds before finally managing to secure the chain around Gavin's neck. As soon as he dropped the chain to Gavin's chest, Gavin's hands reached up to touch it and he craned his head down to try and see it.

"Oh, it's lovely!" He looked back up, beaming, to see Ryan smiling softly back at him. Gavin proudly puffed out his chest a bit and put a fist on his hip "How do I look?"

"It suits you." Ryan gave a nod with his compliment, his voice reserved.

"Really?"

Ryan was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected to have to go any further with his compliment. That little was already such a leap for him and for Gavin to question his sincerity meant he was sort of left reeling for a follow up. "Yeah, it goes with your... scales." 

Gavin blushed his pretty purple blush and sank back into the water a bit, "Well... thank you, lovely Rye."

"Rye?" Ryan cocked an eyebrow and gave a little smile, "Too hard to say my whole name?"

"Oh, no, I just think it's... cute."

"You're cute." Gavin went a sort of spotty red and purple color at the words, and Ryan was sort of shocked himself.  But he let it happen.  He was embracing this new freedom.  And he was rewarded when Gavin made a tiny little squeal and dunked his head under the waves.  Little bubbles began to form around him and it only served to make the scene even cuter.

It all suddenly stopped when Gavin whipped his head out of the water and locked eyes with Ryan,  "Wait right here!"  Gavin pushed himself slowly from the shallows, "I mean it, stay here, I'll be right back!"

Once Gavin had pushed himself out into open water, he twisted and dived deep into the ocean.  He quickly made his way to his little cave, throwing a hand out in recognition to Michael and Lindsay who looked to be hunting nearby.

In his cave, Gavin spun around, eyes skating over the collection of items he kept, trying to find the perfect one.  His eyes settled on the twinkling collection of glass and he knew that it had to be that.  He dialed in on a blue piece that had once been a part of a human drinking vessel.  He snatched it up and held it in his hands.  A smile bloomed across his face as he made his way back up to the surface.

Gavin broke the surface and, after gasping in some air, held his piece of glass up to the rising sun.  Just as he thought, the color reminded him of Ryan's eyes.  This would be perfect.

The edges were soft and rounded from tumbling around in the sea, but the glass still retained some of its glittering transparency. He quickly made his way back to the shore where Ryan was, finding him still sitting there with a bemused little smile on his face.

"And what did you have me wait all this time for?" 

Gavin shrank in on himself a bit, "Did I make you wait all that long? I didn't think I did but-"

"You haven't been gone but a couple minutes." Ryan smiled softly, and Gavin’s mouth fell open a bit.

"Oh. Well I... I brought you something. It's not nearly as nice as your gift but I..." He needed to stop talking himself out of giving this gift. "I think you'll like it!" He put the glass into Ryan's hands, and Ryan gave a little smile. "It- um, it reminds me of your eyes, which remind me of the sea, and the sea is home so you remind me of home and... yeah!" He was a bit flushed, but proud of his gift. He had always thought the piece rather pretty, and thought maybe Ryan would appreciate it.

"It's lovely." Ryan smiled, a genuine, bright smile, and it made Gavin bounce a little, causing ripples in the water. "I should... probably try and make it into a necklace or something to keep it safe, but I love it."

Gavin settled himself on the shores and tugged on the chain now wrapped around his neck.  He couldn't help but smile and gaze upon Ryan.  A splashing behind him caused him to look away from the human, however, to see Lindsay push her red hair out of her face.

"I thought I'd find you here." She smiled and swam closer to the two on the shore.  "Gavin, Michael needs to see you."

Gavin looked at her questioningly, but pushed away from the shore.  "Alright, I'll see you later then, Ryan.  Tomorrow maybe?"

"Whenever." Ryan waved goodbye as Gavin dived beneath the waves.  He sat there until he could no longer determine where he might be and he began to get himself up.

"No, no.  You aren't leaving yet.  I needed to get rid of him so that we could talk."

Ryan hadn't even noticed that Lindsay had dragged herself into the shallows and propped herself on her elbows almost next to him.  "What?"

"I'm Lindsay, by the way."

"Ryan."  He didn’t know why he was replying so readily, but he plopped himself down and looked upon the mermaid.

"Oh, I know, believe me."  There was a bit of silence before Lindsay spoke again.  "You fancy him don't you?  Gavin, that is."

Ryan was taken aback.  He hadn't been that obvious, had he? "I- no!  Well, I mean- I don't  _ not _ like him.  But I, I mean, he's rather nice and kind of - I mean for a man - and a merman at that-"

"Hush.  I understand.  Most humans aren't as... open, are you?"

Ryan deflated a little.  "If you're referring to what I think you're referring to... then no.  If the attraction is not between a man and a woman, then it is sinful in the eyes of the Lord." Ryan kept his eyes on the sea glass the entire time.  He might've just forsaken the religion that kept him down for his whole life, but he could still feel its icy grip on his heart.

Lindsay looked out to the sea before speaking again.  "My people... we have no concept like that.  We believe that one is welcome to be with whoever they wish.  Mating for propagation is between two members of opposing sex, but other than that we have no care.  Long time mates are also often between two opposing sexes, like Michael and I.  But there is no care so long as a child is made by most, if not all, at least once in their life.  We do not often have young."

"Why are you telling me this?" 

Lindsay looked to Ryan with her eyes, green like the seafoam.  "I am just thinking that Gavin has spoken of you at great length and you have only been here for a couple sunrises."

Ryan could feel his face heat up at Lindsay's words.  She had a devilish grin, and a knowing glint in her eyes that made her seem wiser than the years that Ryan assumed she had.  Her striped tail stirred up the water as she leaned in closer to him.  "Gavin doesn't often get all purple like that.  And the redness in your face is not like that which the sun or exertion causes, that much I know.  I cannot for sure tell you what he feels, nor do I know exactly what you feel.  I can merely state facts and let you do with them what you wish."  

Ryan thought on the words for a while, Lindsay watching him with curiosity as the sun came up over the horizon.  She sighed and began to push herself deeper into the water.  "The sun is getting higher, so I shall let you think on what I've told you.  Also, it is only a matter of time before Gavin realizes that I lied to him and tries to come back here.  Michael rarely wants to see him under normal circumstances."

"’Normal’?"

Lindsay looked over shoulder as she began to swim out deeper, "Like I said, Ryan, Gavin's been nearly  _ insufferable _ ."  And with a flick of her striped tail, she descended down into the sea.

_ Insufferable _ ? Ryan chewed at his lip, thinking on Lindsay's words. Gavin had been talking to his friends about Ryan, and apparently so much so that he was annoying them. Maybe Lindsay was right, maybe Gavin did fancy him. Or maybe it was all in his head and Gavin would just be another man to pine over. He bitterly thought about how he was used to that sort of thing. Ryan looked down at the piece of glass in his hands, a deep cerulean. Gavin wouldn't give him a gift if he didn't fancy Ryan, right? Maybe he would, maybe it was simply customary to return gifts.

He didn't know, and he almost didn't want to. He didn't much want to dwell on the possibility that Gavin didn't like him, he had been living with that reality his whole life, and maybe it was time to let himself hope a little. Just a little. 

He sighed and got up, watching the surf for a few moments before going back, scooping up his knife, and vowing to make himself some kind of shelter. He planned to stay here for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever because..... well. School. And.... we wanted to have another chapter under our belts before putting this one up. And school.
> 
> But that's over, and now I (KT) have writer's block. We'll see how that shakes out.


	4. The One I Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I might've lied." Ryan whispered after a second.
> 
> "What?"
> 
> "I do know something about merfolk."
> 
> "And... And what is that?"
> 
> "There's a really cute one called Gavin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long! We apologize, and there's a perfectly good reason for our absence!
> 
> We're terrible.
> 
> That's it, really... but we're in the full swing of this again, even though finals is kicking our ass... but we are getting through this!
> 
> Enjoy some cute, adorable gays.

Over the next several days, Ryan set to making himself a shelter.  It was very makeshift, but he could only use what he had found around the beach - fallen trees, driftwood, palm fronds, and whatnot.  It was hard work, seeing as he needed to find all of his supplies for building, and find some food.  He hadn't even completely recovered from his near drowning.

Gavin came everyday and spent as much time as he could bear above the water with Ryan.  He also tried to assist him in any way that he could.  He would point out places that he knew might have useful supplies, and sometimes he even tried to swim up the river to help.  As Ryan's burn began to bother him more, Gavin pointed out the 'pointed octopus plant' that he knew locals used to help soothe burns.

In return, Ryan would sit with Gavin, his toes in the water.  They would sometimes share the food that Ryan had obtained, though Gavin was always wary of the fruits.  Though what Ryan ate seemed to be different from the mushy brown things he had previously tried to sink his teeth into. They were sweet, and like nothing Gavin had ever tasted from the sea. And the look on Ryan's face when Gavin would bite into a different fruit and his face would light up with joy was just perfect enough that Gavin got over his distrust of fruits, at least the ones Ryan gave to him.

\---

Ryan had been there about a week- he had stopped counting the days - when Gavin popped out of the water brandishing something that looked an awful lot like driftwood to Ryan.

"What have you got there?" Ryan smiled bright like he always did when he saw the colorful merman.

"I found this and I thought it might help! It is also just sort of... pretty?" Gavin swam up as far as he could without stranding himself on land and proffered the wood to Ryan. He didn't much need anything to add to his shelter, it was about as solid as he figured it was ever going to get, but Gavin was right; the grey, brushed tone of the wood  _ was _ sort of pretty.

"Thank you.  I'm sure I'll find something nice to do with it."  Ryan took the piece and set it down on the beach next to him.

Gavin splashed happily and began to tell Ryan of his day with Michael and Lindsay.  He was interrupted, however, by the shine of a chain around Ryan's neck.  "You have another one!  Another chain!"  Gavin's hand flew to the chain looped around his neck, blushing at the memory of when Ryan gave it to him.

"Oh, yes!  I got this chain as part of payment for helping a shopkeeper bring in their shipment from one of the traders that came in.  Here, take a look."  Ryan pulled the chain out of his shirt, tugging the sea glass the he had looped around it.  "I put the gift you gave me on it.  So I can keep it with me at all times."

"Oh, that is lovely!"  Gavin's hands went to his cheeks to hide the heat in his cheeks.  "A lovely necklace for a lovely Ryan."

Ryan flushed a bit and tucked the chain back underneath his shirt, glass cool against his skin, "Only because of a gift from a lovely merman." Gavin blushed all purple, and sank a bit lower into the gentle surf rolling in. Seeing the sight, Ryan could have cried, and not for his normal reasons for the feelings he was having. He felt so...  _ free. _ Especially compared to the rest of his life which had been keeping his head and his feelings down, now he could be himself and it felt  _ so good _ . He never could have hoped that this was the life he would get, a chance to live true to himself without the crushing weight of guilt on his shoulders.

He chuckled a bit, ignoring the puzzled look from Gavin. All this over a blushing merman. Merman. It took being left for dead, being saved by creatures only mythical before then, and managing to survive on the island to be able to live as he wished. And still it was worth it. Though he laughed again, realizing how far he had to go and even then, the object of his affections was a merman.

"What is so funny over there?" Gavin asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"Oh, I just... I'm happy here, and it took a hell of a lot to get me here. I could have died, but it led me here, away from..." Ryan bit his lip. Best not to just let all that out to the first kind ear that would hear it. "well, away from most things. And to you."

"Oh." Gavin looked down into the water, watching the waves come up over his arms and over the sand.  "Well, I am happy, too.  I am happy that you are here."  Silence hung there after the words came out of Gavin's mouth.  Both of them just stared away from each other and blushed.  "Oh." Gavin's stomach rumbled, and he smiled sheepishly. "I have not eaten, and Michael and Lindsay are probably going to be going hunting soon.  Unless..."  Gavin trailed off, and looked at the little bag that Ryan had gotten from the human town.  Maybe he had brought any food that he would be willing to share.

Ryan shook his head, "I didn't bring anything to eat today, I left everything at home."

Gavin deflated and pushed himself back into the water.  "Well, alright, I will be back in a while..."  

Ryan was a little upset that he hadn't brought any fruit with him.  He did have some cured meats, but he knew that Gavin didn't eat meat all that often.  He grabbed his bag and began to search for a little bit to snack on while Gavin was out.

He was a little upset that he didn't have anything to work on.  His home was as built as he could get it with the materials that he had available to him right now.  His fingers ran over the sheathed knife in his bag.  Maybe he could carve something into the driftwood that Gavin had brought him, a little decoration for his home.

But what?

He drew the knife out and sat with it hovering over the wood for a moment.  Eventually, he just decided he'd do whatever first came to mind.

As it turned out, the first thing to come to mind was Gavin- or more specifically, his name. The merman had been doing that a lot lately, popping up when Ryan had time to himself. Ryan found himself wanting to be with Gavin more and more, to see if Lindsay's words rang true. So far, they had, but shreds of doubt still clung to Ryan.

So, to put them out of his mind, he worked, as he often did to try and keep unpleasant thoughts at bay. He set to carving Gavin's name in the wood, tracing faint outlines of the letters in the soft wood to make sure he had space for it all. He never was terribly proficient in carving anything, but he was really just doing it to keep his hands busy while he waited.

A few minutes passed, the wave lapping at Ryan's feet and putting him at ease along with the somewhat mindless work, and Gavin came back with a gleeful little cry of “Hello, lovely Rye!” Ryan smiled and set his work aside. 

"That was faster than I expected."

Gavin giggled lightly, and the sound made Ryan's heart soar, "Yeah, it is sort of easy to find food when I eat seaweed. There is a lot of it in the ocean." Ryan laughed too, and Gavin seemed to relax, even when his eyes flicked to the knife laying in the sand.

"What have you been up to?" He pointed at the driftwood and the knife, a little cautious.

Ryan got shy and considered saying that it was nothing and tucking it all away, but he decided, like with most things lately, to say fuck it and just go with it. "It's, uh... I figured I didn't need much in terms of structure, so I just started carving." Ryan sheepishly turned the driftwood around to show off his work.

Gavin looked upon the carving and smiled widely.  The lines Ryan had carved meant nothing to him, but they looked like they were in a lovely pattern. "That is lovely!  ...What is it?"

Ryan was taken aback.  He hadn't thought that Gavin wouldn't recognize his own name.  But he figured that English wasn't his native tongue, so it made sense. "Oh, it's your name.  It says 'Gavin'."

Gavin's face grew big and bright and Ryan had honestly never seen anything more beautiful. "Ryan!  Lovely, lovely Ryan!  Oh my word!" Gavin hid his face in his hands.  "It is so beautiful!"

"It's really nothing, Gavin. I just wanted something to do while I waited." Ryan dug his foot into the soft sand and looked down at the sand breaking as he buried his foot a little deeper.

"No, do not say that!" Gavin traced the carved out letters of his name as if to memorize them, "It is beautiful. I cannot believe you would think of me."

"You're here every day aren't you? I'd be hard pressed to think of much else." Gavin looked up at him, flushed a dappled pink and purple color, and gave a sheepish little smile. "Um... would you like it? I don't know if you have anything to- oof!" Gavin had launched himself out of the surf to wrap his arms around Ryan with a grin on his face, and Ryan just barely managed to not fall back to the sand. Ryan froze for a second, not sure of what to do, but then Gavin nuzzled into him a bit and he delicately laid his hands on Gavin's slim waist, just above where the scales of his tail melted into skin.

"Thank you, Ryan. I love it." He splashed his tail a bit and pulled back grinning, "Everyone is going to be so jealous when my home has my name on it... Even if they do not know what it means." Gavin got a little proud smile, "I will tell them all what it means."

"You have a home?" Ryan had figured merfolk simply wandered around the ocean, but he supposed he knew little of the actual creatures.

"Of course! I did not used to have one, just sort of swam about on my own meeting lots of pretty ladies and handsome men, and then when I got old enough, I found myself a little cave and called it my own! It is filled with lots of lovely stuff, like the glass I gave you." Gavin poked at where he could feel the piece and Ryan nearly shivered at the touch. "I should show you sometime!" After a second his face fell, "Oh, but you cannot breathe underwater, can you?"

"Of- of course." What Gavin could not see was the bright red blush that had taken over most of Ryan's face. The slight damp of Gavin's skin was leaching into his clothes, but he couldn't find it in him to care when he practically had Gavin in his arms. This was more than he could have ever dreamed to have, and he was having a hard time believing it. "U-um, will you need help getting back into the ocean?"

"Might. Happy where I am right now though." And at that, Ryan could have fainted. Instead of fainting, he tried his best to not do all the things he wanted to do, like take Gavin's hand in his own and bury his face in Gavin's hair. It was inches from his face and smelled of the sea in the most beautiful way, and Ryan almost got lost in it. He restrained himself though, and simply dug his hands into the sand behind him to stay upright for Gavin to use him a bit like a chair. Gavin absently flipped the tip of his tail, the both of them watching as the seafoam caught on the tips of his brilliant pink and blue tail. 

Gavin tried not to focus on how he could feel Ryan's breath, how warm he was against his back.  He picked up the carved wood and tried to commit the shapes to memory with his fingers.  "What are each of these symbols, Ryan?  I know they say 'Gavin', but what do they mean?"

Ryan settled his chin on Gavin's shoulder and reached over to trace over each letter individually.  "G, A, V, I, N.  Gavin.  They're each different letters.  They're 26 of them in total, and combinations make up the entire language.  Well, at least for English."

Gavin followed the way Ryan traced over the letters, and then began to do the same.  His heart sped up a little when their hands began to move as one, Ryan taking his wrist and helping him go over each.  G, A, V, I, N.  Gavin.  The name he had been given.  "Thank you again.  For this gift." Gavin turned to look at Ryan, but he didn't realize how close their faces had gotten.  He felt his face heat up when their noses nearly brushed together and he pulled away a little.  His hands flew up to cover his cheeks.  "Sorry."  He barely breathed out the word.

"No, I- you didn't do a thing wrong." Ryan's voice was gentle too, hiding the incessant flutter in his chest as he backed away and put more space between their faces. Both of them were blushing heavily, and they turned away from each other to hide it. Gavin settled back against Ryan's chest, and Ryan's hand came to rest just by Gavin's waist, fingertips teasing at contact. They laid like that for a while, Gavin occasionally flipping a bit of water onto himself to keep himself from drying out too much.

Eventually he leaned to the side and tilted his head up to speak to Ryan, "Rye?" Ryan hummed in response. "You are called Ryan, but do you have another name, one you were given as a young... human?" Ryan tensed, thinking of the first name he shared with his father and didn't answer, prompting Gavin to continue. "Because my  _ real _ name, the one my mother gave me, cannot be spoken above water, and I just was wondering if your mother gave you your name."

Ryan watched the waves sparkle over the sands.  Little jewels shining in the sun.

"Ryan?"

Ryan sighed and wrapped his arms around Gavin's waist, pulling him close to his chest.  "There is another name that I was given."  He barely let the words pass through his lips.

"Oh?"

There was a set in Ryan's jaw.  He took a breath and set his chin in Gavin's damp hair.  "Yes.  It was the name of my... my father.  I do not use it.  I do not associate myself with it any longer.  I do not associate with him any longer."

"Oh." Gavin's hands came to rest over Ryan's arms.

"My father was a bad man, Gavin.  My mother wasn't much better.  And I-"

"Ryan, Ryan, you are hurting me." Gavin tried to pull at Ryan's arms as they became a vice around his waist.

"Fuck, I'm sorry." Ryan released Gavin, removing his arms completely. "I'm so sorry, Gavin."

"It is alright, lovely Ryan.  I... do not understand what you have gone through, but it must have hurt you very much.  It might not be the same, but I know that there are humans that are... not as sweet as you."

Gavin nuzzled back a bit against Ryan, quiet for a few moments, "If you wanted... you could put your arms back around my waist. That was... nice." He smiled softly up at Ryan, trying to ease his worry. He could tell from the set in Ryan's brow that he was still troubled by the memories he bore, and he wanted to ease that hurt in some small way. And if he rather liked being in Ryan's arms, well, that was just a... pleasant side effect of helping Ryan feel better. Ryan's arms slipped back around Gavin's waist, careful to keep them delicate.

"Is this alright?" Ryan wanted to be sure he wasn't hurting Gavin.

"You're barely touching me, yes, Ryan it is alright."

"I really did not mean to hurt you, Gavin, I-" Gavin shushed him and Ryan drew back a bit, surprised at his boldness.

"You are hurt by this. I can see that well. I... I wish to help in whatever way I can. I like you, Ryan, quite a bit, and I do not like to see the people I like hurting."

"Oh. Well. Thank you, Gavin, that... means a lot." It meant more than a lot, it meant the world to Ryan and he showed it by hugging Gavin closer and burying his face in Gavin's hair. He had reservations about it, but there was no better way in his mind to show Gavin how he felt than to act as he wanted. So he held the merman close, hoping that he wasn't making Gavin uncomfortable.

He wasn't.

Gavin rather liked being so tightly held by someone. It was comforting, and he felt... loved.

"Ryan...?" Gavin piped up after enjoying the sound of the waves for a while.

"Hmm?" The man hummed, nose buried in Gavin's hair, taking in the scent of salt and sea in the strands.

"What are humans like?"  Gavin scooted further back, careful to not crush his fins against Ryan.  Ryan laughed, his chest shaking against Gavin's back.  "What!?"

"That's a broad question.  It's hard to boil down an answer for 'what humans are like.'  And even then, I could only tell you about the people I know.  I know very few people." Gavin huffed.  "It would be like if I asked you what merfolk are like.  Do you know where you'd begin?  If you don't know much about humans, you wouldn't know where to begin your comparisons."

"I know one thing about humans!" Gavin chirped brightly, leaning back a bit and looking up at Ryan

"Oh, and what is that?" Ryan cocked an eyebrow, as little as Gavin could likely see him.

"That there is a really nice one called Ryan." Gavin’s voice softened, and he laid back against Ryan, almost burrowing into him.

Ryan was glad that Gavin was facing away from him, because a heat overtook his face that was hotter than any sunburn.  "I might've lied." Ryan whispered after a second.

"What?"

"I do know something about merfolk."

"And... And what is that?"

"There's a really cute one called Gavin."

Gavin turned to face him, mouth hanging open slightly and flushed to his ears. Ryan did his best to quell the ingrained panic and smile down at the merman gaping up at him.

"Rye..." He just barely breathed. 

Ryan opened his mouth to answer- "Oh my, sorry! Have I intruded upon something?" Lindsay had rather suddenly appeared and caught the pair gazing at each other, and she was sinking a bit back into the waves as she spoke. Gavin shook his head, as if to clear it of whatever had them caught up in each other like that and turned to speak to her. Ryan's heart fell as Gavin turned away, he had never felt so dizzy and grounded and burning up yet frozen in place all at the same time, and he wanted more of whatever it was that was making him feel that way.

"No, no, it's no problem, Lindsay, what do you need?" Ryan felt it rather was a problem, but wasn't about to say so.

"Michael and I are going hunting and we were wondering if you'd like to join us."

"You both know well I don no't need to hunt." Gavin had sat up a bit, and Ryan missed Gavin's body warm against him.

"Yes, but when you are with us, I have some sort of a buffer between Michael and his frustration when fish are actually somewhat hard to capture."

Gavin paused for a second and turned back to Ryan, "I may have to take you up on that offer of helping me out back into the water. I am a bit stranded here in your arms." Ryan didn't move a muscle, just letting his voice drop low so only Gavin could hear.

"Will you be back?"

Gavin ran his lightly webbed hands over Ryan's arms, "If you would like me to do so." He kept his voice low as well.  He wasn't sure why, though...

"Of course."  Ryan slipped his hands out from around Gavin's waist and stood up.  He scooped Gavin up and began to walk him into the water.  The merman's arms were wrapped around his neck.

With the water up to his waist, Ryan was able to let the man out of his hold.  The water ran over the shimmering scales of his tail as he glided away from him.  "I will come to see you soon, lovely Ryan."

As the two tails of the merfolk dived deeper into the depths of the ocean, Ryan stood there and watched.  Probably for a bit longer than intended to.  Just standing there, watching the spot where Gavin left him.

It left an oddly hollow feeling in his chest, and he sat down on the beach and kept watching the waves, hoping it wouldn't be long before Gavin's head reappeared above them. He noticed the sign next to him, and realized that Gavin had forgotten it. Gavin would  _ have _ to come back to get it then, so Ryan trusted in Gavin's word that he would be back and scooped up his things, moving to settle himself under the shade.

\---

Gavin had been gone for hours, and Ryan had fallen asleep curled up against that tree, lightly burning himself  _ again _ . He was starting to get a rich tan though, nothing like the beautiful golden color of Gavin's skin, but something rather impressive nonetheless. He'd have to go and find more of that plant Gavin had told him about, but it wasn't anything as bad as his first few days on the island.

The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky a beautiful orange, but Ryan felt he couldn't quite appreciate it knowing that Gavin hadn't come to visit yet. He pushed himself off the sand and made his way over to the water, hoping Gavin would appear. Much to his surprise, he was very quickly greeted with a wave from a webbed hand and a cheery "I am back, lovely Ryan!"

"It's good to see you, Gavin." Ryan sat back down in the sand, where he knew Gavin could come and sit with him.

"Sorry I took so long, Michael and Lindsay sometimes take absolutely  _ forever _ to hunt, and then by the time they were done I had to eat and-" Gavin paused, balling a fist. "You probably do not care about my day, do you?"

Ryan's tone was gentle, and he gazed earnestly into Gavin's eyes. "I do care, Gavin. Quite a lot."

Gavin's face went a bit pale.  "Oh.  Well, thanks.  I am here now, though, and that is what matters."  Ryan nodded as Gavin dragged himself up from the water.  "Do you mind if I, um... sit with you again?"  Gavin motioned to Ryan's legs.

"Yes, of course!  However..." Ryan thought for a moment before pulling his shirt up over his head.

Gavin's eyes went wide as he saw Ryan's skin revealed to him.  He knew that clothes were very much a human concept, so the nakedness of his own species never bothered him.  But he had never seen Ryan with so little clothes before.

"I would like if you didn't get my only shirt too wet with salt water.  I would rather not wash it so soon."

"Oh.  Of course.  May I?"

Ryan's smile was as bright as the setting sun. "Come on up." He grabbed Gavin's hand and helped tug him up the last foot or so of sand before settling him against his bare chest.  There was such a heat that radiated from his body.  Gavin found it comforting.

They sat in silence for a little while, watching the sun paint the sky in beautiful hues of red and orange. Ryan's tentative hand came to wrap around Gavin's waist. 

Gavin started when he realized he had left his little sign with Ryan, picking the driftwood up and laying it against his lap. He kept tracing the letters with his finger and smiling softly to himself.

"Thank you." His voice was almost lost in the sound of the waves, but Ryan picked it up with the feeling of Gavin's slim chest reverberating against his broader one. Ryan chuckled, causing Gavin to look back up at him.

"You're really pleased about that aren't you?"

"I am! It is... it is the first thing anyone, human or merfolk, has ever properly given to me. Other than your chain, of course. We do not make a habit out of gifts, and to get one from someone like you..." Ryan felt his face heat up a bit.

"What do you mean, 'like me?'"

"Well, someone kind and caring and sweet, and who I care about very much. I mean, Michael and Lindsay are good to me, but they are not as sweet as you are, lovely Rye."

"Ah, I see." Ryan did his best to be nonchalant, but he couldn't stop thinking about the fact Gavin had said he cared about him. Could it really be... like that?

"Humans make it a custom to give gifts. Especially to those we care about.  We find any number of reasons to give gifts.  Normally to celebrate some sort of anniversary."

Gavin felt his cheeks heat up. "So you... care about me?"

"Of course!" Ryan tightened his grip on Gavin's body.

Gavin flipped his tail happily, and set his new sign on his lap. He settled up against Ryan's chest and laid his webbed hands over Ryan's dry warm hands.

Ryan's heart skipped a beat as he felt Gavin's perpetually damp hand lay over his own. Gavin was quiet, head pressed up against Ryan's chest as they both looked out onto the setting sun. It cast streaks of color along the waves, painting them in shades of gold that reminded Ryan of Gavin's hair. Gavin snuggled a little closer to Ryan with a happy sigh, and the sound made Ryan's heart ache. He could have this. 

Ryan took a breath to steel himself and guided Gavin's hand properly into his, tangling their fingers together, careful of the webbing between Gavin's fingers. He felt Gavin gasp a little, and he turned to look up at Ryan, mouth a little open. Ryan tried to keep an easy smile, but Gavin's face just settled a panic into his gut. "Is- is this alright?" 

Gavin blinked and shook his head as if he were clearing it, sending a faint spray of sea water out of his hair. "Oh, absolutely! I just..." Gavin looked down to where their hands were still joined and then back up to Ryan. "It was a surprise is all. Lovely surprise, but a surprise."

Ryan gave a nervous smile that broke into a bigger grin, and Gavin smiled right back at him. And in an instant, Ryan knew he was head over heels for the merman.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make us love you. And when we eat a warm cookie, we will think of you fondly.
> 
> Check us out on tumblr at [m4d-m4x](http://m4d-m4x.tumblr.com/) and [theloveandthestuff](http://theloveandthestuff.tumblr.com/).  
> We do stuff there, too.


End file.
